Great reads from around the web on January 26th

I come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources all over the web every day. Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve found recently (as of January 26th). You can join the conversations in the comments, or click through to the original posts to find what others are saying.

To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

• Social Media: A Bubble About to Burst – Online Fundraising, Advocacy, and Social Media – frogloop – "Are your nonprofit staffers addicted to social media? Do they feel that one day Twitter and Facebook are going to bring in the big bucks and build a huge base of activists that will come to your organization’s rescue when you need their help the most? Perhaps around passing one of the most important legislative bills in your organization’s history? Well, I wish you lots of luck and good fortune." Great piece from Allyson Kapin reminding readers that social media is "part of" a strategy. We know that tools (aka tactics) are what help us implement a strategy, not what it is built around. So we need to remember that with social media!
• Love of Philanthropy Photo Contest « Vivanista | Living Well. Doing Good. – "Join Vivanista in sharing the love of philanthropy by participating in our Love of Philanthropy photo contest that showcases images of what it means to be philanthropic." Great example of digital storytelling and community engagement. Check it out and submit a photo yourself!
• Admitting Failure – "“All my successes have been built on my failures.” – Benjamin Disraeli Human and economic development are complex. Progress requires testing, trialing and constant iteration – in short, many failures. This site is an open space for those in the international development community who want to honestly and publicly share their failures. It is a conversation and it is an archive. It aims to create a culture in the broader international development community where failure is embraced."
• Twitter’s Response to WikiLeaks Subpoena Should Be the Industry Standard | Threat Level | Wired.com – "Twitter introduced a new feature last month without telling anyone about it, and the rest of the tech world should take note and come up with their own version of it. Twitter beta-tested a spine."
• Apple’s Disdain for Philanthropy Hurts Society – Opinion – The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas – "Holiday season is always a time for giving—but not on your iPhone. That’s because Apple doesn’t allow nonprofits or other organizations to include a direct donation system in the phone’s applications, so the only way to give is to go to a charity’s Web site, a cumbersome process with a small phone-size keyboard. The only question: Is it a mere glitch or a natural extension of Apple’s policy that is generally indifferent to nonprofits and philanthropy? The company’s policies toward philanthropy and nonprofits are growing increasingly problematic as Apple products become an ever larger part of our media and communications landscape."